Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about the amazing work Rotary does, not only in our local communities but also internationally. Rotarians have been present not only for major events in history but also they have been a part of them. They are truly international. Only 16 years after being founded, Rotary had clubs on six different continents. Today, they are working together around the globe to solve some of the world's most challenging problems. Their commitment to service is ongoing. Rotary began their fight against polio in 1979 with a project goal to immunise six million children in the Philippines. By 2012, only three countries remain polio endemic, down from 125 in 1988. Rotary has reduced polio by 99 per cent and now we are closer than ever to ending this crippling disease for ever. However, a lesser known campaign by Rotary is a project started here in Australia.

The School of St Jude aims to fight poverty through education and was started by our own Gemma Sisia of country New South Wales. St Jude's is a charity funded school which provides a free, high-quality primary and secondary education to over 1,650 of the poorest but brightest in the region of Arusha, Tanzania, in East Africa. Founded in 2002, the school is located across three campuses and provides boarding for over 1,000 students, employing over 400 local Tanzanians. By developing professional skills and knowledge, students are assisted to aim high and to achieve dreams previously out of their reach. With a St Jude's education, students have a chance to escape the cycle of poverty and help not only their families and community but the whole of Tanzania.

Gemma Sisia is an Australian woman with an incredible amount of energy and determination. With $10 in her bank account, the former Guyra farm girl set up a school in Tanzania for poor but bright African children. Gemma found sponsors and support in Australia and helped build the school—literally, brick by brick—on a piece of land at the foot of Mount Meru in Tanzania. She named the school St Jude's, after the patron saint of lost causes, but do not let the name fool you, Mr Deputy Speaker; the school is in fact a great success, bringing modern education to children who would otherwise be doing manual labour.

Gemma thanks her parents for bringing her and her brothers up with the philosophy of never giving up and that anything is possible when you really put your mind to it, combined with an ethic of hard work. Gemma is thrilled with the school's success. Every year, they have an intake of 200 new children and, with that, more local employment—more bus drivers, more cooks, more cleaners and 12 to 13 more teachers. 'It sounds very romantic and really exciting, but really,' Gemma says, 'it is so hard.'

Gemma commented in an ABC interview in 2007 that the last five years had taken more out of her than her whole life put together, but she would not have it any other way. Another seven years later, Gemma is still going strong, with almost twice the number of students. Gemma has said that she could not find anything as challenging or rewarding as the knowledge that her students are going to lead Tanzania into the future. I commend Gemma and her ongoing fight to end poverty through education and Rotary Clubs for their support of this amazing project.

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